Kalyani Priyadarshan recently spoke about her journey in Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra at the Hollywood Reporter India round table, sharing honest details about the nervous days leading up to the film’s release and how trust played a key role in shaping the superhero film. The actor said Lokah felt very different from anything typically seen in Malayalam cinema, which added to the anxiety around its reception.
She revealed that the entire team, including co-star Naslen, was extremely tense before the release. “We were very nervous up until the day of release. On the day of the release, me and Naslen didn’t step out. We were in our rooms, hoping that people don’t say anything bad about us,” Kalyani said. Actor Vicky Kaushal, who was part of the discussion, stepped in to praise Naslen’s performance, saying, “Even Naslen was so good.”
Kalyani Priyadarshan agreed and added that Naslen is a brilliant actor. She shared that things changed only after early reviews started coming in. “Around 3:00, when we knew good reviews were coming in, we called each other and said, ‘I think we can step out now,’” she said.
Why Lokah didn’t turn cheesy
Speaking about why she felt confident taking on a role that could have easily turned into a cheesy horror-superhero mix, Kalyani credited director Dominic Arun almost entirely. She said the team had complete faith in his clarity and vision. According to her, the combination of Dominic and cinematographer Nimish Ravi worked exceptionally well together.
She recalled watching the way scenes were being shot and feeling there was something special taking shape. Still, she admitted there was a small doubt about how audiences would react. “There was still this 2% of ‘are people going to like this?’ But once you are in a film, you commit to it fully,” she said. Kalyani also revealed that Basil Joseph was the first person who encouraged her to do Lokah, as he was initially supposed to be part of the project.
Here’s how spontaneity changed the interval block
Kalyani also shared an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about the film’s interval block, which has since become a talking point. She said everything in Lokah followed the script, except the interval sequence. That part evolved during the shoot and editing when the team felt some scenes were not working as planned.
Dominic then decided to intercut sequences differently. Kalyani believes that decision made a huge impact. “Preparation gives you structure, but spontaneity gives you soul,” she said, adding that this last-minute creative call helped elevate the film. According to her, Lokah could not have been made without the collective trust in the director’s vision, which ultimately paid off at the box office and with audiences.
